Catamenial garment



Patented. Apr. 25, I899.

G. R. EVERSDN.

CATAMENIAL GARMENT.

(Application fllec} July 14, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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GEORGE R. EVERSON, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.,

CATAMENIAL GARMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,658, dated April25, 1899.

Application filed July 14, 1898.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. EVERSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oatamenial Garmentswith Pad Attachments; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being hadto the annexed drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention comprises a comfortable and snugly-fitting garment to beworn byfemales during their menstrual periods, the garment being so madeas to permit the ready use of any kind of a pad or other receptacle forabsorbing the catamenia, although I prefer employing a special padcapable of ready application to the garment, as hereinafter more fullydescribed.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the front ofthe aforesaid garment, the front portion of an india-rubber shield beingunbuttoned from said garment anddependingfromitsbackfastenings. Fig. 2is a rear elevation of said garment, the shield being buttoned up. Fig.3 is a vertical section taken from front to rear of the garment, theshield being in the buttoned-up position shown in the precedingillustration. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan of the special pad detachedfrom the garment.

A represents the front, and B the back, of

a garment made of any knitted material that is sufficiently elastic anddurable and when finished having the shape of a pair of halfdrawers.Secured to the upper edge of the front A is a waistband 0, having nearone end a number of holes 0 and near its other end a button 0, as shownin Fig. 2. Furthermore, this band may be tubular to admit an electricbelt, if desired. The upper edge 'of the back B is hemmed at D, andwithin this hem is inserted a drawstring cl of sufficient length to passaround the wearers waist and be tied in front or to have its endsotherwise conveniently fastened together.

At a suitable distance below the band C an opening E is made in thefront A,which open- Serial No. 685,905. (No model.)

back B, and H H are buttons fastened to the finish g.

I is a seam starting from the finish a, running down almost to thebottom of the garment and then carried up its back, and terminating atthe finish g. I is another seam arranged in a similar manner, these twoseams I I being nearer together at top than at botton and permitting thesecure attachment of the opposite edges of a gusset J. Said gusset iscut crosswise of the material, so that the length of the goods shall runfrom one scam I over to the other scam I, and thereby render thisportion of the garment very flexible. Again, when this gusset is sewedto the seams I I considerable fullness is left at the crotch j of thegarment, as more clearly shown in Fig. 3. K K are buttons fastened tothe front of these seams, -and L L are similar fastenings attached tothe back of said seams, the object of these buttons being to enable theready' v application to the garment of an india-rubher or other thinwaterproof shield M.

N N are short legs of the garment, and n n are thigh-bands at theirlower ends.

0 O are side openings made in the upper part of the garment, whichopenings are carried down a sufficient distance to facilitate the readyadjustment and manipulation of my article of wearing-apparel.

The pad P, which is preferably used with this article, is made ofknitted ribbed material, the lengthwise of the goods being arrangedacross said pad and its edges being fastened together with overcaststitching p, so as to render this attachment P very elastic. The rearend of this pad has a pair of tapes R R to engage over the back buttonsH H, while the front end of said pad has a set of loops p, in either oneof which can be engaged a rubber cord S, having eyes s s to engage withthe front buttons F F.

The loops 1) can be formed by doubling the end of the pad back on itselfand then stitching it together at suitable intervals, or said loops canbe sewed to said pad, their object being to afford a suitable range ofadjustment when the garment is fitted to a wearer, this fitting beingeffected in the following manner.

If a sponge or ordinary pad is to be used, such a receptacle for thecatamenia is first placed in the fullness or crotch j, and then thegarment is put on the same as an ordinary pair of half-drawers, the band0 being buttoned at the back and the tape d being tied in the front,after which act the shield M is fastened to the garment; but in somecases it may be more convenient to button this shield to the garmentbefore the latter is put on. The band C and tape d enable the upperportion of the garment to be readily ad justed to thewearers waist,while the yielding nature of the knitted goods causes the garment to fitsnugly around her body without binding or occasioning any inconvenience.Again, as the sponge or pad is seated in the gusset J it is in suchclose contact with her as to prevent any material leakage, and if anycatemenia should escape it cannot run down below the thigh-bands n 91.Prior to an evacuation of the bowels the tape (1 is untied in frontwithout disturbing the band C, and then the back of the garment isdropped down, pulled through between the legs N N, and then drawn up infront, the side openings 0 O enabling this ready manipulation of thegarment.

When my special pad P is used, its tapes R R are fastened to the rearbuttons II II, while the eyes 5 s of the cord S are engaged over thefront buttons F F, the main portion of said pad occupying the fullness jof the gusset J and the buttons and other attachments enabling the readyadjustment of all the parts to suit the size and shapeof the wearersbody.

' It is evident that by making several sizes of these elastic garmentsthey can be readily adjusted to any shape of wearer.

Finally,'where the word fullness is used in this specification it is tobe understood as defining that method of securing parts of garmentstogether which consists in gathering up the edge of a piece of materialand so sewing it to another part of a garment as to cause said materialto become more or less wrinkled or baggy in its center. Thus the sidesof the gusset J are gathered up before being stitched to the seams I I,thereby producing a number of central folds or wrinkles j, that rendersaid gusset very flexible or yielding.

I claim as my invention 1. The catamenial pad P, having tapes R R, loops1), and elastic cord S s s, in combination with a garment havingopenings E, G, and, near these openings, buttons F F, and H H, for theengagement of said cord and tapes.

2. A knitted eatamenial garment provided with side openings 0 0, frontbuttons K K, rear buttons L, L, a detachable waterproof shield M,engaged with said buttons; and an inserted gusset J, sewed to thegarment in the manner described, and having a fullness j, at the crotchof the same, for the purpose stated.

3. A knitted catamenial garment consisting of the front A, provided withan opening E e, and buttons F, F, K, K; the back B, provided with anopening G g, and buttons II, H, L, L; an inserted gusset J, having afullness j, at its crotch; a pad I, resting in said fullness, and havingend fasteners engaged with the buttons F, F, H, H, and a waterproofshield M, inclosing the lower portion of said gusset, and engaged withthe buttons K, K, L, L, all as herein described, and for the purposestated.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE R. EVERSON. Witnesses:

JAMES II. LAYMAN, JOHN 0. ROGERS.

